Tuske^ee 

To  Date 


“The  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial 
Institute  is  a Public  Institution 
Supported  by  the  Public” 

Founded  July  4,  1881 


1915 


Tuske^ee  Institute,  Ala. 


TYPESETTING  AND  PRESSWORK  BY  STUDENTS  OF  TUSKEGEE  INSTITUTE.  ALABAMA 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 

THE  institution  was  established  under  the  name  of  The  Tus- 
kegee Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  by  the  legislature 
of  1880  appropriating  two  thousand  dollars  to  be  used  to 
pay  the  salaries  of  the  teachers.  The  school  was  opened  for  its 
first  session  July  4,  1881,  in  a rented  shanty  church,  with  thirty 
pupils  and  but  one  teacher.  No  provision  was  made  by  the  legis- 
lature for  a building.  In  1884  the  appropriation  was  increased  to 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  in  1893  the  institution  was  incorporat- 
ed under  the  name  of  the  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Insti- 
tute. During  the  first  session  the  present  location,  consisting  at 
that  time  of  one  hundred  acres,  with  three  small  buildings  thereon, 
was  purchased  by  Northern  friends. 

The  population  of  the  school  community  is  at  present  over  2,000. 
This  includes  185  teachers,  officers  and  employees  with  their  fam- 
ilies, and  a small  number  of  others  who  are  connected,  but  indirect- 
ly, with  the  work  of  the  school. 

From  its  Foundation  up  to  and  including  1915,  over  10,000  men 
and  women  have  finished  a full  or  partial  course,  gone  out  from  the 
school  and  are  doing  good  work,  mainly  as  teachers  and  industrial 
workers. 

The  Total  Enrollment  in  the  regular  Normal  and  Industrial  de- 
partments in  1915  was  1,537.  This  includes  representatives  from 
32  States  and  19  foreign  countries,  907  of  these  were  young  men 
and  630  young  women.  This  did  not  include  the  225  in  the  Train- 
ing School  or  “Children’s  House,”  or  the  150  in  the  night  school  of 
the  town  of  Tuskegee  or  the  40  in  the  afternoon  cooking  classes  in 
the  town  of  Tuskegee.  It  did  not  include  the  450  teachers  in  the 
Summer  School  for  Teachers,  or  the  325  in  the  “Short  Course” 
in  Agriculture-  If  these  had  been  included  the  total  number  of 
those  who  had  the  benefits  of  the  school’s  teaching  during  the 
year  would  have  amounted  to  2,727.  Of  the  1,537  students  regu- 
larly enrolled  all  but  about  100  board  and  sleep  on  the  Institute 
grounds. 

The  School  Gets  Its  Students  largely  from  the  South  Atlantic 
States,  Alabama,  Georgia.  Mississippi,  Texas.  Florida,  and  South 
Carolina,  in  the  order  named,  furnishing  the  larger  number. 


(1) 


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TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


The  Educational  Plant  consists  of  2,345  acres  of  land ; 107  build- 
ings, large  and  small,  used  for  dwellings,  dormitories,  class  rooms, 
shops  and  barns,  which  together  with  the  equipment,  stock-in- 
trade,  live  stock  and  personal  property,  is  valued  at  $1,567,062. 
This  does  not  include  19,527  acres  of  public  land  remaining  unsold 
from  25,000  granted  by  act  of  Congress,  and  valued  at  $250,000.00, 
nor  the  Endowment  Fund- 

'The  Control  of  the  School  is  vested  in  a Board  of  nineteen  Trus- 
tees, eight  of  whom  live  in  Alabama  and  the  others  in  different 
parts  of  the  North.  Six  in  New  York,  two  in  Massachusetts,  two 
in  Illinois,  and  one  in  Pennsylvania.  Five  members  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  who  live  in  New  York  City  and  one  member  who  lives 
in  Alabama,  compose  a committee  on  the  Investment  of  the  En- 
dowment Fund- 

The  Endowment  Fund  amounts  at  the  present  time  to  $1,945,326. 
One  of  the  gifts  that  have  been  contributed  to  this  sum  is  a bequest 
of  $38,000  from  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Shaw,  a colored  woman, 
of  New  York. 

Graduates  of  Tuskegee  first  started  a fund  to  perpetuate  the 
work  of  the  school  December  1,  1890.  It  was  known  as  the  Olivia 
Davidson  Fund,  in  memory  of  the  first  “lady  principal,”  as  the 
Dean  of  the  Woman’s  Department  was  then  called.  It  was  not  un- 
til 1900,  ten  years  later,  that  the  small  sums  that  students  and 
graduates  were  able  to  contribute,  reached  $1,000,  the  amount  re- 
quired to*  complete  the  fund.  Meanwhile  the  endowment  had  been 
increased  from  various  sources,  the  largest  donation,  $50,000,  com- 
ing from  Collis  P.  Huntington.  A special  effort  was  made  to  in- 
crease the  endowment  during  the  year  1899  and  1900  when  it  grew 
from  $62,253.39  to  $152,232.49.  The  largest  increase  was  made  in 
1903  with  the  Andrew  Carnegie  gift  of  $600,000.  The  year  of  the 
“quarto-centennial,”  1905,  brought  two  memorable  gifts,  the  Bald- 
win Fund  of  $150,000,  contributed  by  the  friends  of  William  H. 
Baldwin,  Jr.,  until  his  death,  January,  1905,  a Trustee  of  the  In- 
stitute, and  by  the  Alumni  Fund,  of  $1,000.  In  1907  the  endow- 
ment was  increased  by  the  addition  $231,072  from  the  estate  of 
Albert  Willcox. 

The  Current  Expense  of  running  the  school  is  about  $290,000. 
To  meet  this  the  school  is  reasonably  sure  of  about  $180,000  from 
endowments  and  other  sources.  In  1915,  $15,430  of  the  above 
amount  was  paid  by  students  as  entrance  fees. 


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3 


This  leaves  over  $100,000  to  be  secured  each  year  mainly  from 
the  contributions  of  the  public  at  large. 

The  Needs  of  the  institution  at  present  are  chiefly : 

1.  $50.00  a year  for  annual  scholarships  for  the  tuition  of  one 
student,  the  student  himself  providing  for  his  own  board  in  labor 
and  in  cash. 

2.  $1,200  for  permanent  scholarships. 

3.  Money  for  current  expenses  in  any  amounts,  however  small. 

4.  An  addition  to  our  Endowment  Fund  of  at  least  $3,000,000. 

5.  $30,000  for  a building  for  religious  purposes. 

6.  $15,000  to  complete  Boys’  Trades  Building. 

7.  $40,000  for  boys’  dormitory. 

8.  $40,000  for  girls’  dormitory. 

9.  $1,500  each  for  four  teachers’  cottages. 

10.  $3,000  for  a general  store-room. 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  DEPARTMENTS 

Including  the  Agricultural  Department,  the  Industries  for  Girls 
and  the  Nurse  Training  School,  there  are  now  forty  different  trades 
or  professions  taught  at  Tuskegee. 

The  Industries  are  grouped  under  three  departments:  the  School 
of  Agriculture,  the  Department  of  Mechanical  Industries  and  the 
Industries  for  Girls.  Each  one  of  these  departments  has  a sepa- 
rate building,  or  group  of  buildings,  in  which  the  work  of  the 
school  is  done.  The  Agricultural  School  has,  in  addition  to  its  lab- 
oratories, the  Farm  and  the  Experiment  Station  where  practical 
and  experimental  work  is  performed. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  AGRICULTURE 

The  work  of  the  School  of  Agriculture  centers  in  the  Milbank 
Agricultural  Hall,  which  was  erected  in  1909,  at  a cost  of  $26,000. 
In  addition  to  regular  class  rooms  it  contains  laboratories  for  such 
elementary  work  in  chemistry  as  the  study  of  agriculture  demands. 
There  is  a museum  in  which  the  specimens  of  various  products  of 
the  soil  are  preserved  for  illustrating  lectures.  There  is  an  assem- 
bly room  with  a seating  capacity  of  300  persons.  The  first  floor 
contains  the  creamery,  the  farm  machinery  repair  shop,  and  a 
specially  adapted  class  room  for  studying  live  stock. 

The  First  Industry,  Farming,  was  started  on  a small  scale  in  1883, 
on  the  land  on  which  Phelps  Hall,  Huntington  Memorial  Hall  and 
the  New  Laundry  now  stand-  The  farm,  including  the  Experiment 


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TUSKEGEE  '10  DATE 


Station,  comprises  at  present  2,300  acres,  divided  about  as  follows: 
37  acres  used  as  a Truck  Garden  to  supply  the  school’s  dining  hall 
and  the  town  market  with  vegetables ; 214  acres  devoted  to  orchard 
and  small  fruits;  840  acres  devoted  to  general  farming;  1,300  acres 
to  pastures,  woodland  and  other  purposes. 

An  Extensive  Live  Stock  Industry  is  conducted  on  the  basis  of 
this  farm.  The  Dairy  Herd  contains  156  head  of  cattle,  breeders, 
yearlings  and  calves,  with  100  milch  cows  “at  the  pail.”  The  cream- 
ery received  last  year  60,000  gallons  of  milk  and  manufactured 
9,000  pounds  of  butter.  The  Swine  Herd  consists  of  600  head  of 
hogs.  The  Poultry  Yard  contains  over  2,000  fowls.  The  Horse 
Barn  takes  care  of  all  the  work  animals  of  the  school  and  contains 
150  head  of  horses,  mules  and  colts  which  have  an  annual  earning 
capacity  of  $34,000. 

The  Work  of  the  Farm  in  1915  was  carried  on  by  325  students 
and  18  instructors. 

The  Leading  Crops  raised  upon  the  General  Farm  last  year  were : 
500  tons  of  ensilage,  7,000  bushels  of  sweet  potatoes,  3,500  bushels 
of  corn,  10,000  bushels  of  oats  and  300  tons  of  hay.  The  leading 
crops  of  the  Truck  Garden  were:  300,853  pounds  of  greens,  2,890 
dozen  bunches  of  lettuce,  1,000  bushels  of  onions,  4,000  bunches 
of  beets,  610  bushels  of  lima  and  snap  beans,  538  bushels  of  toma- 
toes, 400  bushels  of  rutabagas  and  turnips,  833  dozen  ears  of  green 
corn,  3,500  dozen  squash  and  300  bushels  of  okra.  The  total  value 
of  the  vegetables  grown  by  the  Truck  Garden  in  1915  was  $6,100. 

Landscape  Gardening,  Horticulture  and  Floriculture  have  recently 
been  added  to  the  industries  taught  by  the  school-  Horticulture 
was  started  as  far  back  as  1895.  Floriculture  was  added  in  1904 
when  through  the  kindness  of  a friend,  the  school  was  given  the 
money  with  which  to  build  a greenhouse.  A second  greenhouse 
was  added  in  1907  and  40,000  plants  and  over  400  shade  trees 
planted. 

There  are  now  13,350  Peach  trees  and  140,000  strawberry  plants, 
and  2,051  grape  vines  in  the  school  orchard.  In  one  year,  the  stu- 
dents in  this  department  planted  1,010  trees  and  7,803  shrubs  and 
did  altogether  for  the  institution,  including  the  value  of  the  trees 
and  shubs  planted,  labor  to  the  amount  of  $7,392- 

For  a number  of  years  the  Institution  has  had  a Canning  Factory. 
In  1914  a special  building  was  erected  for  this  industry.  During  the 
year  fruit  and  vegetables  were  canned  as  follows : 349  gallons  of 
blackberries;  15,497  gallons  peaches;  1,330  gallons  tomatoes;  28 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


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* 

gallons  apples;  75  gallons  figs;  435  gallons  peas;  and  78  gallons 
grapes. 

The  Experiment  Station  was  established  in  connection  with  the 
Agricultural  School  in  1896  by  the  State  Legislature  of  that  year. 
The  result  of  eight  years’  work  was  published  April,  1905,  entitled 
“How  to  Build  Up  Worn  Out  Soils.”  A sequel  to  this  bulletin,  en- 
titled “Cotton  Growing  on  Sandy  Uplands,”  shows  that  on  the  poor- 
est soil  in  Alabama,  a bale  of  cotton,  nearly  four  times  the  average 
yield  per  acre,  can  be  grown  with  profit. 

Experiments  in  cotton  breeding  have  been  going  on  since  1905 
with  success.  The  purpose  of  these  experiments  has  been:  1.  To 
create  an  hybrid  species  by  breeding  the  Sea  Island  cotton,  which 
is  noted  for  its  long,  silky  fibre,  with  certain  of  the  upland  varieties. 
2.  To  create  a type  more  prolific  and  better  adapted  for  sandy, 
upland  soils,  such  as  those  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tuskegee. 

THE  MECHANICAL  INDUSTRIES 

The  shops  where  the  Mechanical  Industries  are  taught  are  in  the 
Slater- Armstrong  Memorial  Trades  Building.  This  building  which, 
with  the  saw  mill,  the  boiler  house,  tool  and  storage  rooms,  occupies 
a floor  space  of  about  37,650  square  feet,  contains  the  shops  for 
teaching  the  following  trades:  carpentry,  woodworking,  printing, 
tailoring,  blacksmithing,  wheelwrighting,  harnessmaking,  carriage 
trimming,  plumbing,  steamfitting,  electric  lighting,  architectural 
and  mechanical  drawing,  tinning,  painting,  steam  engineering  and 
shoemaking-  The  saw  mill  and  the  brick  yards  are  located  in  an- 
other part  of  the  grounds- 

The  First  Bricks  made  were  used  in  building  Alabama  Hall. 
Brickmaking,  the  second  industry  on  the  grounds,  was  started  in 
1883.  The  first  bricks  were  made  by  hand  in  the  ravine  between 
Alabama  Hall  and  the  Chapel.  The  first  machine  for  making 
brick  was  made  of  wood  and  run  by  horse  power.  It  had  a capac- 
ity of  about  8,000  per  day.  The  two  machines  now  in  use  have  a 
rated  daily  capacity  of  25,000  each. 

Bricklaying  and  Plastering  started  in  1883.  Thirty  brick  build- 
ings have  been  erected  or  are  in  process  of  erection  on  the  grounds 
in  which  the  bricks  have  been  manufactured  and  the  plans  drawn 
and  the  buildings  constructed  largely  by  student  labor  under  the 
direction  of  the  instructors.  Including  new  and  repqir  work  in 
masonry  and  plastering,  the  value  of  the  work  of  this  division 
amounted  in  1915  to  $4,458. 

Blacksmithing  was  started  in  a little  frame  building  12x16  and 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


6 

with  a crude  outfit.  The  Blacksmith  Shop  now  contains  ten  forges ; 
work  to  the  value  of  over  $3,000  is  done  yearly.  This  includes  the 
iron  work  used  in  the  building  of  new  vehicles  and  the  shoeing  of 
679  horses  and  mules. 

Carpentry  was  introduced  in  1884.  This  industry  was  first 
taught  in  a small  building  known  as  the  John  F.  Slater  Carpenter 
Shop.  Woodturning,  scroll  and  mach'ne  work  and  cabinet  making 
have  been  added  since  that  time-  This  has  enabled  the  school  to 
make  a good  deal  of  its  own  furniture  and  repairs  that  would  other- 
wise have  been  done  outside  the  school.  The  carpentry  work  of 
all  the  buildings  erected  on  the  Institute  grounds  has  been  done  by 
students  of  the  carpentry  division  under  the  direction  of  the  in- 
structors in  carpentry.  The  value  of  the  work  done  by  the  stu- 
dents in  this  division  in  1915  amounted  to  $17,296. 

Printing  was  started  in  1885.  The  office  prints  books,  pamph- 
lets, magazines,  newspapers,  and  considerable  job  and  commercial 
printing.  The  Journal  of  the  National  Medical  Association,  The 
Annual  Catalogue,  The  Treasurer’s  Report,  The  Negro  Year  Book, 
The  Tuskegee  Student,  The  Southern  Letter,  The  National  Notes, 
are  among  the  more  important  pieces  of  printing  done  during  the 
year.  The  value  of  the  work  of  the  printing  office  in  1915  amounted 
to  $14,845. 

The  Saw  Mill  was  started  in  1886-  At* that  time  the  school  owned 
a large  tract  of  heavily  timbered  land.  Investigation  showed  that 
this  timber  could  be  cut  and  manufactured  into  lumber  at  a consid- 
erable saving.  During  1915,  194  feet  of  lumber  was  sawed. 

The  First  Wagon  made  on  the  grounds  was  the  work  of  Fayette 
Pugh,  an  untutored  colored  man,  who  was  working  at  that  time, 
1887,  in  the  saw  mill.  The  school  was  much  in  need  at  that  time 
of  a wagon,  but  did  not  have  mbney  enough  to  buy  it.  This  man 
said  if  the  school  would  purchase  the  hubs  and  enough  iron  he 
would  build  a wagon.  This  wagon,  excepting  t’'e  iron  work,  was 
built  under  an  oak  tree  and  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  establish- 
ment of  a Wheelwright  Shop  in  1888.  As  the  Wheelwright  and 
Blacksmith  Shop  began  a few  years  later  to  build  buggies  and  car- 
riages, it  was  found  necessary  to  stai't  a Carriage  Trimming  Di- 
vision. This  was  done  in  1891.  In  addition  to  the  repairs  of  farm 
machinery  and  wagons,  something  like  twenty  fine  vehicles,  nmeng 
them  buggies,  surreys  and  wagons,  besides  a large  number  of  dump 
carts,  push  carts,  wheelbarrows,  etc.,  are  made  in  this  division 
each  year.  The  value  of  the  articles  turned  out  by  this  division  in 
1915  was  $2,513. 


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The  Bill  for  Tinware  had  grown  so  large  in  1890  that  it  became 
profitable  to  establish  a Tin  Shop  on  the  grounds.  Lewis  Adams,  a 
colored  man  who  had  been  instrumental  in  securing  the  location  of 
the  Institute  at  Tuskegee,  was  at  that  time  doing  the  work.  It 
was  found  that  he  could  be  employed  to  do  the  work  on  the  school 
grounds  and  give  instruction  to  the  students  for  less  than  the 
school  was  paying  him  during  the  year  for  odd  jobs.  Mr.  Adams 
was  also  a harnessmaker  and  a shoemaker,  and  did  a large  amount 
of  repairing  for  the  school.  It  was  decided  to  employ  him  and  let 
him  teach  all  of  these  trades.  About  3,000  pieces  of  tinware,  in- 
cluding basins,  wash  cans,  slop  cans,  etc.,  are  made  every  year  for 
the  use  of  the  school  in  the  Tin  Shop.  Aside  from  the  repair  work 
on  the  school  buildings,  nearly  all  the  roofing  for  the  larger  build- 
ings on  the  grounds  was  made  there  and  put  upon  the  buildings 
by  the  students.  For  the  New  Power  Plant  the  Tin  Shop  made  2 
metal  skylights,  2 tin-covered  doors,  350  feet  of  galvanized  cornices 
and  100  feet  of  galvanized  drain  pipe. 

In  the  Shoe  Shop  50  pairs  of  shoes  were  made  by  the  students ; 
60  pairs  of  uppers  were  drafted  and  made,  and  2,603  pairs  repaired. 
The  value  of  the  work  done  in  this  division  was  $1,126. 

The  Harness  Shop  makes  and  repairs  the  harness  used  by  the 
school.  The  trimming  of  buggies  and  carriages  is  also  done  in  this 
division.  In  1915  this  division  did  1,161  jobs  of  new  work  and 
repairing.  The  value  of  this  work  was  $2,253. 

An  Abandoned  Cupola,  which  was  presented  to  J.  H.  Washington 
by  the  authorities  of  a polytechnic  school  for  whites  near  Tuskegee, 
brought  about  the  establishment  of  a Foundry  and  Machine  Shop 
at  the  school.  For  some  time  Mr.  Washington  had  been  looking 
forward  to  setting  up  a Machine  Shop.  To  do  such  work  as  he 
desired,  however,  it  was  necessary  to  have  a Foundry.  He  had  ex- 
pressed his  desire  to  a teacher  in  the  neighboring  school.  Shortly 
after  the  authorities  of  this  school  decided  to  take  out  the  small 
cupola  they' had  been  using  and  put  in  a larger  one.  They  decided, 
therefore,  to  give  the  old  one  to  Tuskegee-  The  school  was  then 
very  poor  and  the  Finance  Committee  did  not  feel  able  to  pay  the 
freight.  Mr.  Washington  finally  sent  a three-yoke  ox-team  after 
the  cupola  and  hauled  it  fifteen  miles  over  a dirt  road.  Since  that 
time  the  school  has  made  its  own  castings  and  been  able  to  do  con- 
siderable work  for  the  surrounding  community.  The  Foundry 
manufactures  boiler  grates,  cast  iron  beds,  sash  weights  of  dif- 
ferent sizes,  machine  and  boiler  castings  and  various  miscellaneous- 
castings. 


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TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


The  Machine  Shop,  exclusive  of  the  Foundry,  now  occupies  a 
floor  area  in  the  Trades  Building  of  2,870  square  feet.  All  the 
repairing  of  the  mechanical  equipment  of  the  school,  including 
steam  pumps,  steam  engines,  wood  working  machines,  printing 
presses,  metal  working  machines,  etc.,  is  done  in  the  Machine  Shop. 
The  value  of  the  work  done  in  this  division  the  past  year  was  $3,791* 
Plumbing  and  Steamfitting,  which  were  at  first  part  of  the  Ma- 
chine Shop,  have  since  been  organized  as  separate  industries. 
Under  the  charge  of  this  division  there  have  been  installed  40,240 
feet  of  steam  and  35,000  feet  of  water  lines,  carrying  steam  and 
water  to  all  the  larger  buildings  on  the  grounds.  The  value  of  the 
work  done  in  1915  amounted  to  $5,768. 

The  Power  Plant.  Steam  Engineering  is  taught  in  connection 
with  the  new  Central  Power  Plant  which  has  just  been  installed  at 
a cost  of  $229,000.  In  the  Steam  Engineer’s  course  the  young  men 
have  studies  from  eleven  different  steam  engines,  seven  steam 
pumps,  twelve  steam  boilers,  a complete  water-works  system  with 
miles  of  piping,  and  the  various  water-works  equipment — valves, 
guages,  recording  apparatus,  etc. 

Over  Ten  Thousand  Electric  Lights  are  used  in  lighting  the 
buildings  and  the  grounds  of  the  school.  The  first  dynamo  was 
purchased  in  1898  and  the  first  electric  lights  were  those  put  in 
the  new  Chapel  in  that  year.  Light  is  supplied  to  a considerable 
number  of  houses  in  the  village  of  Greenwood,  and  in  all  over  30 
miles  of  wiring  have  been  installed  and  maintained  by  the  students 
in  this  division. 

Painting  was  first  taught  as  a separate  industry  in  1891-  Pre- 
vious to  that  time  there  were  special  students  in  the  Carpenter  and 
Wheelwright  Shops  who  did  this  work.  During  1915  the  Painting 
Division  did  1,120  jobs  of  various  sorts.  These  included  painting 
houses,  glazing  windows,  signs,  vehicles,  furniture,  etc. 

The  Tailor  Shop,  during  1915,  completed  1,159  jobs,  including 
220  suits  made.  Students’  uniforms  are  made  in  the  Tailor  Shop. 
The  value  of  the  work  done  in  this  division  was  $3,698. 

Architectural  and  Mechanical  Drawing  was  first  taught  in  con- 
nection with  the  separate  industries.  An  important  advance  in  the 
method  of  teaching  was  achieved  when  a separate  department  was 
established  for  this  work,  where  the  plans  and  specifications  not 
onlv  for  the  buildings  but  all  other  work  in  the  school  are  made. 
These  ( raw'n^s  and  specifications  have  enabled  the  students  to  think 
their  problems  as  well  as  do  the  work  assigned  them.  Plans  for 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


9 


nearly  all  the  buildings  on  the  grounds  were  drawn  by  this  depart- 
ment. 

THE  INDUSTRIES  FOR  WOMEN 

What  are  known  on  the  grounds  as  the  “Girls’  Trades”  are  cen- 
tered in  a building  erected  in  1901  and  known  as  Dorothy  Hall. 
This  building  contains  a laundry,  cooking  school  and  dressmaking 
and  millinery  shops.  In  this  building,  baskets,  mattresses,  brooms, 
and  soap  are  made-  Additions  which  have  doubled  the  capacity 
of  the  building  have  made  room  for  a larger  kitchen  and  a more 
systematic  and  extended  training  in  cooking. 

The  Cooking  School  is  located  with  the  girls’  other  industries  in 
Dorothy  Hall.  In  the  early  days  of  the  school  students  received 
training  in  cooking  in  the  preparation  of  the  meals  of  the  school. 
At  the  present  time  the  meals  are  served  by  the  students  but  cook- 
ing and  domestic  science  are  now  taught  in  a separate  building. 

Since  1893  all  the  Girls  in  the  School  have  studied  Cooking  and 
Domestic  Science-  After  they  have  had  this  training  they  serve 
for  a month  in  the  Students’  and  Teachers’  Dining  Rooms.  In 
addition  the  school  maintains  a Practice  Cottage  where  the  girls 
of  the  Senior  Class  keep  house  and  do  their  own  cooking  on  a small 
fixed  allowance  given  them  by  the  school. 

Dressmaking  and  Millinery  have  been  added  to  the  Department  of 
Plain  Sewing,  with  the  idea  of  giving  a certain  number  of  students 
a trade.  The  plain  sewing  had  been  started  to  furnish  underwear 
and  working  shirts  for  the  young  men.  The  dressmakers  and  mil- 
liners make  the  dresses  and  trim  the  hats  for  most  of  the  students 
and  teachers. 

The  Mattress  Factory  was  the  happy  thought  of  a newspaper 
man  who  came  to  visit  the  school.  In  1887  the  school  was  in  need 
of  mattresses.  There'were  none  to  be  had  in  the  town  and  the  mat- 
tressmaker  who  had  formerly  done  the  work  had  died.  One  of  the 
teachers  and  a student  decided  they  would  try  the  experiment  of 
making  them  on  the  grounds.  To  do  this  they  began  tearing  up 
an  old  mattress  to  see  how  it  was  put  together.  While  they  were 
engaged  ir.  this  work  a newspaper  man  discovered  them.  Tn  his 
account  of  the  industries  he  mentioned  mattressmaking.  It  has 
been  one  of  the  trades  since  that  time. 

Among  the  things  made  here  there  were  1,229  brooms,  95  mat- 
tresses, 214  mops,  408  curtains,  170  tablecloths,  205  bedticks,  997 
pillow  cases,  125  pillows,  and  96  screens ; in  all,  articles  to  the  valu$ 


10 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


of  $2,819  were  made  in  1915  in  the  Mattress,  Broom  and  Basketry 
Divisions. 

All  the  Laundry  for  the  School  is  done  by  the  girls  in  the  Laun- 
dry Department.  Considering  that  there  are  on  an  average  some- 
thing like  1,600  persons,  including  students  and  teachers,  in  the 
school,  the  weekly  washing  is  large.  According  to  the  record 
1.532,000  pieces  were  laundered  in  the  school  laundry  during  the 
year- 

THE  ACADEMIC  DEPARTMENT 

The  Academic  Department  is  located  in  the  Collis  P.  Huntington 
Memorial  Building,  which  is  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Collis  P.  Huntington, 
and  was  erected  in  memory  of  her  husband. 

All  the  students  are  required  to  take  academic  studies.  There  is 
a systematic  effort  to  correlate  the  academic  studies  with  the  in- 
dustrial training  and  practical  interest  of  the  pupil.  By  this  means 
the  work  of  the  students  in  the  Industrial  Department  is  lifted 
above  the  level  of  mere  drudgery,  and  becomes  invested  with  the 
character  of  a demonstration.  On  the  other  hand,  the  principles 
acquired  in  the  academic  studies,  gain  in  definiteness,  precision 
and  interest  by  application  to  actual  situations  and  to  real  objects. 

The  students  of  the  Academic  Department  are  divided  between 
the  Night  and  Day  Schools.  About  two-thirds  of  all  the  students 
are  in  the  Day  School  and  one-third  in  the  Night  School.  The 
Night  School  pupils  attend  academic  exercises  four  evenings  each 
week  from  6:45  to  8:30  and  one  evening  from  6:45  to  8:00.  The 
Day  School  pupils  attend  academic  exercises  three  days  each  week 
from  9:30  to  12:00  and  1:30  to  4:00.  A night  school  pupil  of 
vigorous  health  and  good  ability  ordinarily  advances  in  his 
academic  studies  about  one-half  as  rapidly  as  the  average  pupil  in 
the  Day  School- 

The  Night  School  is  designed  for  those  who  are  too  poor  to  pay 
the  small  charges  made  by  the  Day  School. 

The  Expense  of  Day  School  Students  over  and  above  the  cost  of 
clothing  and  in  addition  to  what  can  be  earned  is  about  $45  or  $50 
for  a term  of  nine  months.  The  rate  of  wages  of  the  student 
depends  upon  his  efficiency.  Whatever  a Night  School  student 
earns  in  excess  of  his  board  is  placed  to  his  credit  to  be  used  when 
he  enters  the  Day  School. 

Teaching  in  the  Academic  Department  is  canned  on  by  a faculty 
of  fifty-two  teachers:  eleven  in  English,  nine  in  mathematics,  five 
in  history  and  geography,  two  in  science,  one  in  education,  two  in 


Tompkins  Memorial  Hall  — Dining  Room 


Agricultural  Department — Corn  Growing 


[Corner  in  the  Training  Kitchen 


Students  Passing  in  Rev 


Collis  P.  Huntington  Memorial  Academic  Building 


he  Way  to  Chapel  Services 


A Corner  in  the  Printing  Division 


A Corner  in  the  Harnessmaking  Division 


John  A.  Andrew  Memorial  Hospital — Dedicatory  Exercises 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


11 


bookkeeping,  three  in  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  one  in  the 
kindergarten,  one  in  drawing  and  writing,  one  in  physical  culture, 
three  in  the  library,  seven  in  the  Children’s  House,  and  four  others 
employed  in  the  office  of  the  Director  of  the  Department- 

The  Children's  House  is  the  public  school  of  the  Institute  com- 
munity. To  this  school  the  county  contributes  about  $250,  and  the 
Institute  about  $1,000.  In  addition  it  has  an  income  from  the 
tuition  of  the  children  which  amounts  to  $350.  In  1902  a generous 
friend  gave  the  Institute  money  to  erect  a suitable  building  in  which 
to  carry  on  this  work.  Rooms  are  provided  to  serve  as  a kitchen, 
dining  room  and  bed  room  for  training  girls  and  there  is  likewise 
a manual  training  room  for  boys.  Teachers  are  supplied  from  the 
Institute.  The  school  prepares  its  pupils  to  enter  the  Junior  Class 
of  the  Institute. 

A Summer  School  for  Teachers  is  conducted  each  year  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Academic  Department.  It  furnishes  an  oppor- 
tunity for  teachers  to  improve  themselves  so  that  they  may  be 
able  to  do  better  teaching  and  be  of  wider  service  to  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  teach.  The  summer  schools  runs  for  six 
weeks  during  the  months  of  June  and  July. 

Over  400  teachers  are  gathered  from  all  of  the  Southern  States 
and  some  Northern  States. 

THE  PHELPS  HALL  BIBLE  TRAINING  SCHOOL 

The  Bible  Training  School  is  located  in  Phelps  Hall  directly 
facing  the  Academic  Building. 

The  Aim  of  the  Department,  which  was  established  in  1892,  is  to 
give  its  students  a comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  whole  English 
Bible;  to  give  them  such  knowledge  and  training  as  will  fit  them 
to  work  as  preachers  and  missionaries  under  the  actual  conditions 
now  existing  among  the  colored  people. 

A Night  Bible  Class  gives  an  opportunity  to  ministers  in  the  town 
and  surrounding  country  who  are  not  able  to  attend  the  day  school, 
to  learn  something  of  the  Bible  and  its  history.  These  men  come 
to  the  school  twice  a week  for  two  hours’  instruction,  some  of  them 
walking  four  or  five  miles. 

Four  Teachers,  including  the  Dean  of  the  school,  make  up  the 
faculty  of  the  Bible  Training  School.  Lectures  are  also  given  by 
men  prominent  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  denominations  of  the  Ne- 
gro church.  Their  lectures  usually  bear  upon  questions  of  practi- 
cal church  work. 


12 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


The  Macon  County  Ministers’  Association  which  meets  four  times 
a year  at  the  school  brings  the  Bible  students  in  touch  with  practi- 
cal community  problems.  The  Bible  students  also  attend  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Farmers’  Institute,  the  Short  Course  in  Agriculture  and 
other  Extension  activities  of  the  school.  In  this  way  they  get  first- 
hand methods  of  community  uplift. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMINISTRATION 

The  Administration  of  the  Institute  centers  in  the  Administra- 
tion Building  which  contains  the  offices  of  the  Principal  and  the 
Secretary,  the  rooms  of  the  Executive  Council,  of  the  Treasurer,  of 
the  Auditor,  and  the  Commandant  of  the  Battalion,  who  is  also 
head  of  the  police  department  of  the  school. 

This  building,  which  was  completed  in  1904,  contains  also  the 
Post  Office  and  the  students’  Savings  Bank. 

The  Executive  Council  is  the  directing  body  in  the  school.  It 
is  made  up  of  the  chief  executive  officers  of  the  school,  the  Prin- 
cipal, Treasurer,  General  Superintendent  of  Industries,  Director 
of  Mechanical  Industries,  Secretary  of  the  Institution,  the  Direc- 
tor of  the  Agricultural  Department,  the  Director  of  the  Experi- 
ment Station,  the  Commandant  of  the  Battalion,  the  Dean  of  the 
Bible  Training  School,  Business  Agent,  the  Director  of  the  Aca- 
demic Department,  Chief  Accountant,  the  Registrar,  the  Dean  of 
the  Women’s  Department,  and  the  Director  of  Industries  for  Girls. 

A Savings  Department  was  established  at  the  school  in  1901. 
This  was  to  provide  means  for  the  students  to  deposit  their  money 
to  accustom  them  to  the  habit  of  using  a bank  and  to  encourage 
them,  indirectly,  in  the  habit  of  saving.  The  number  of  deposi- 
tors is  about  1,250. 

The  Accounts  of  the  school  are  centered  in  the  Chief  Account- 
ant’s office.  Separate  accounts  are  kept  for  51  different  depart- 
ments of  the  school.  This  includes  the  40  different  industries, 
each  of  which  makes  a separate  accounting  of  its  work.  The 
amount  of  trade,  back  and  forth,  inside  the  school,  of  which  the 
Accountant’s  office  is  a sort  of  clearing  house,  amounts  each 
year  to  more  than  $600,000.  This  office  has  over  4,000  ledger  ac- 
counts of  which  1,500  are  with  students  and  in  addition  keep  the 
accounts  of  36  funds,  17  of  which  are  endowment  funds.  The 
Chief  Accountant  is  teacher  of  bookkeeping  in  the  school,  and 
his  office  is  a sort  of  post-graduate  course  to  students  who  desire 
to  become  expert  bookkeepers  and  accountants. 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


13 


BUSINESS  AGENT’S  DEPARTMENT 

The  term  “Business  Agent”  is  very  broad  in  its  application.  It  is 
his  business  to  purchase  practically  everything  used  by  the  school, 
from  a pin  to  a steam  engine  or  a massive  dynamo.  The  Business 
Agent’s  Department  includes  the  Boarding  Department  and  the 
General  Stores  Division.  This  necessitates  the  purchasing  of  the 
daily  food  supplies  for  the  students,  teachers,  and  in  many  in- 
stances the  families.  The  Boarding  Department  furnishes  daily 
to  students  an  average  of  4,027  meals  at  a cost  per  capita  per  day 
of  approximately  thirteen  cents  for  provisions.  At  different  meals 
quantities  of  food  are  consumed  as  shown  in  the  following  items: 
95  gallons  of  coffee,  350  pounds  of  greens  or  salad,  75  gallons  of 
peaches,  120  gallons  of  milk,  45  pounds  of  butter,  20  gallons  of 
syrup,  300  loaves  of  bread,  5,600  pieces  of  corn  bread,  22  bushels 
of  sweet  potatoes.  The  consumption  per  day  of  any  one  item  of 
meat  is  about  375  pounds  of  beef  or  375  pounds  of  pork  or  200 
pounds  of  tripe  or  180  pounds  of  liver  or  380  pounds  of  fish.  The 
General  Stores  Division  embraces  the  Commissary,  Sales  Room 
and  Meat  Market.  The  monthly  sales  from  the  Commissary  to  the 
families  amount  to  about  $1,600.  To  the  departments  sales  for  a 
single  month  are  over  $7,600.  The  monthly  sales  of  the  Sales  Room, 
which  is  a general  dry  goods  and  stationery  store,  are  from  $2,000 
to  $4,000. 

HOSPITAL  AND  NURSE  TRAINING  SCHOOL 

The  Hospital  and  Nurse  Training  School  was  started  in  1892,  but 
not  until  1901  were  the  different  departments,  the  boys’  ward,  the 
girls’  ward,  the  operating  and  drug  rooms,  centered  in  one  building. 
The  Andrews  Memorial  Hospital  cost  $50,000.  It  affords  adequate 
facilities  for  the  increasingly  large  number  of  operative  cases  that 
are  brought  to  the  hospital  often  from  adjacent  States  for  treat- 
ment. The  hospital  is  in  charge  of  a superintendent  wrho  is  as- 
sisted by  two  internes,  a head  nurse,  matron  and  pharmacist. 

One  Hundred  Three  Trained  Nurses  have  gone  out  from  the 
school  since  1894  and  are  doing  good  work  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  The  course  in  the  Training  School  covers  a period  of 
three  years  and,  as  a rule,  students  are  supposed  to  have  completed 
the  work  in  the  Academic  Department  or  its  equivalent  before  en- 
tering. 


14 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  SCHOOL  EXTENSION 

The  actual  work  of  Tuskegee  has  for  some  years  grown  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  school  grounds.  Every  year  sees  the  amount  of  this 
extension  work  increased.  In  its  efforts  to  reach  and  aid  the 
masses  outside  of  and  beyond  the  direct  influence  of  the  school 
room,  the  Institute  has  aimed:  1.  To  change  public  opinion  and 

turn  the  attention  of  the  people  in  directions  where  there  was  hope 
for  them.  This  has  been  the  work  of  the  Negro  Conference  and 
various  agencies  that  have  grown  up  to  help  complete  its  work.  2. 
To  educate  the  people  on  the  soil,  encourage  better  methods  of 
farming  and  so  induce  Negro  farmers’  children  to  remain  on  the 
soil.  This  has  been  the  work  of  the  Short  Course  in  Agriculture, 
the  Farmers’  Institute,  the  Demonstration  Farming  and  the  Mova- 
ble Schools  operated  unders  the  “Smith-Lever”  Agricultural  En- 
actment. 

The  Annual  Negro  Conference  was  started  in  Febraury,  1891.  In 
that  year  Principal  Booker  T.  Washington  sent  out  invitations  to 
about  seventy-five  representative  Negroes  in  Macon  County,  farm- 
ers, mechanics,  school  teachers  and  ministers.  The  majority  of 
the  men  who  came  to  the  conference  were  farmers-  Instead  of  sev- 
enty-five, something  like  four  hundred  responded  to  this  invitation. 
The  success  of  the  first  conference  has  been  repeated  each  year 
since  and  the  fame  of  its  annual  meeting  has  extended  until  Negro 
farmers  come  from  all  over  the  South  to  attend  them. 

The  Need  of  First-hand  Knowledge  of  conditions  among  the  Ne- 
gro farmers  and  in  the  more  remote  regions  of  the  South  brought 
so  many  visitors,  students  and  teachers  to  these  conferences  that  it 
was  finally  decided  to  hold  the  conference  two  days,  giving  the  first 
day  to  the  farmers  and  the  second  day  to  the  students  and  teach- 
ers. This  has  resulted  in  the  division  of  the  work  of  the  Annual 
Conference  into  the  Farmers’  and  Workers’  Conferences.  The 
Workers’  Conference  follows  the  Farmers’  and  takes  its  theme 
from  it. 

A Conference  Agent  is  employed  by  the  school  whose  duty  is  to 
organize  local  conferences  in  different  communities  in  the  State  and 
visit  those  conferences  already  established  in  order  to  encourage 
them  in  their  work. 

The  Short  Course  in  Agriculture,  started  in  January,  1904,  and  in- 
tended to  give  farmers  in  the  surrounding  country,  at  the  season 
when  most  of  them  are  idle,  the  advantage  of  two  weeks’  study  and 
observation  of  the  work  of  the  school  farm,  has  been  increasingly 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


15 


successful.  The  first  year  there  were  but  eleven  students  and  most 
of  them  were  older  men.  In.  1912  this  number  had  increased  to 
1,472  and  800  of  these  were  young  men  and  women. 

The  Demonstration  Farming  Experiment,  the  work  carried  on 
by  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington  with  the  aid  of  the 
General  Education  Board,  was  started  in  1907.  The  plan  provided 
that  a certain  number  of  farmers  in  a selected  county  should  farm 
a small  portion  of  their  land  under  the  direction  of,  and  with  the 
seed  provided  by  the  Agricultural  Department.  The  work  through- 
out the  South  has  been  under  the  directions  of  Dr.  S.  A.  Knapp,  of 
Washington,  who  has  under  him  a number  of  agents  whose  duty 
it  is  to  visit  the  different  sections  of  the  country  and  oversee  the 
work  that  is  going  on.  These  men  have  under  them  the  Field 
Agents  who  in  turn  select  and  direct  the  farmers  in  the  fields.  In 
Macon  County  this  work  was  begun  among  Negro  farmers  by  T.  M. 
Campbell,  a graduate  of  the  Agricultural  Department.  Demon- 
stration work  is  now  carried  on  under  the  auspices  of  Tuskdgee 
Institute  as  follows:  In  Alabama,  in  Macon,  Wilcox,  Lee,  Mad- 
ison, Randolph  and  Bullock  Counties;  in  Mississippi,  in  Bolivar,  Jef- 
ferson Davis  and  Sunflower  Counties. 

The  Movable  Schools.  By  means  of  funds  received  from  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  under  the  Smith-Lever 
Agricultural  Extension  Work  Enactment  two  to  three  days  Mova- 
ble Schools  are  carried  on  in  various  counties  of  Alabama  where 
there  are  large  numbers  of  Negro  farmers.  Instructors  from  the 
Institution’s  Department  of  Agriculture  go  into  a county,  gather 
the  farmers  and  the  r wives  and  children  together  and  give  them 
instruction  in  better  methods  of  farming  and  the  care  and  improve- 
ment of  the  home. 

A Negro  County  Fair  was  held  for  a number  of  years  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Farmers’  Institute  on  the  grounds  near  the  school. 
In  1906  a permanent  Fair  ground  was  erected  within  the  limits  of 
the  village  of  Greenwood.  In  1911  the  Negro  County  Fair  was 
merged  with  the  white  association  of  the  county  under  the  name 
of  the  Macon  County  Fair  Association. 

Rural  School  Extension  seeks  to  assist  and  direct  the  Negro 
farming  communities  in  building  schoolhouses,  lengthening  the 
school  terms  and  securing  competent  teachers.  The  aid  received 
from  the  Rosenwald  gift  for  rural  school  building  is  doing  much 
toward  providing  good  schoolhouses.  The  Jeanes  Fund  and  other 
sources  enable  teachers  to  employ  the  most  effective  methods  of 


16 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


teaching  the  pupils  and  improving  the  communities,  so  that  the 
schools  of  the  county  where  Tuskegee  Institute  is  located  are  among 
the  best  rural  schools  in  the  South. 

A special  supervisor  is  employed  whose  duty  is  to  visit  the  va- 
rious schools  and  advise  and  assist  teachers,  particularly  with  ref- 
erence to  the  management  of  school  farms  and  school  gardens  and 
the  teaching  of  agriculture  and  the  industries.  One  of  the  impor- 
tant tasks  of  this  supervisor  is  the  organization  of  community  clubs 
for  the  support  of  the  schools. 

A Model  School  is  maintained  in  what  is  known  as  the  Rising 
Star  community,  wh'ch  is  just  beyond  the  Institute  farm,  where 
a combined  school  and  dwelling  house  has  been  erected  and  two 
graduates  of  Tuskegee,  a man  and  his  wife,  occupy  and  conduct  a 
public  school-  The  house  contains  five  rooms,  a sitting-room,  bed- 
room, a kitchen,  a dining-room,  and  a spec'al  class  room.  There 
is  also  a barn  and  garden  with  horses,  cow,  pigs  and  chickens.  The 
regular  class-room  work  is  carried  on  in  this  as  in  other  public 
rural  schools,  except  that  instead  of  spending  all  their  time  in  a 
class  room,  pupils  are  divided  into  sections  and  given  instruction 
in  the  ordinary  industries  of  a farm  community.  While  some  pu- 
pils cook,  others  clean  the  house,  others  the  yard,  others  work  in 
the  garden,  others  are  receiving  literary  instruction. 

In  four  years  the  Negro  farmers  of  the  county  where  Tuskegee 
Institute  is  located  contributed  over  $20,000  to  the  building  of 
schoolhouses  and  lengthening  school  terms. 

A Plantation  Settlement  was  established  in  the  spring  of  1897, 
on  what  is  known  as  Russell  Plantation,  eight  miles  from  Tus- 
kegee. This  was  an  original  attempt  by  Mrs.  Booker  T.  Washing- 
ton, to  adapt  the  methods  of  the  “University  Settlement”  to  the 
needs  of  the  people  who  live  in  the  primitive  conditions  that  still 
obtain  on  the  large  plantations  in  the  “Black  Belt.”  The  work  was 
begun  in  an  abandoned  one-room  cabin. 

The  school  has  been  supported  by  such  funds  as  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton was  able  to  obtain  from  friends.  From  the  first  the  parents 
of  the  children  who  attended  the  school  have  contributed  what 
they  could-  For  six  years  past  they  have  been  trying  to  pay  a 
small  monthly  tuition.  Fifteen  dollars  a month  is  received  from 
the  county  toward  the  support  of  the  teacher.  This  school  is  also 
a home,  in  which  the  household  industries,  sewing,  cooking,  etc., 
are  taught  along  with  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  On  t':e 
small  farm  connected  with  the  school,  the  pupils  raise  corn,  pota- 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


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toes,  peas,  in  addition  to  other  garden  truck,  cabbages,  onions, 
beans,  tomatoes,  etc. 

The  Mothers’  Meetings  established  in  the  town  of  Tuskegee  by 
Mrs.  Booker  T.  Washington  have  extended  their  inflence  to  other 
portions  of  the  county  and  beyond  to  small  communities  in  other 
parts  of  the  State.  More  than  twenty  such  communities  in  this 
county  and  elsewhere  maintain  meetings  of  this  kind.  About 
2,000  women  on  the  farm  are  reached  through  the  medium  of  these 
meetings. 

Schools  Doing  Tuskegee  Work,  established  by  Tuskegee  stu- 
dents or  under  the  direct  influence  of  Tuskegee,  are  the  special 
object  of  the  Institution’s  consideration  and  care.  The  most  im- 
portant of  the  schools,  established  by  Tuskegee  graduates  are  the 
Snow  Hill  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  at  Snow  Hill,  Alabama, 
founded  by  William  J.  Edwards;  the  Mt.  Meigs  Institute  at  Waugh, 
Ala.,  founded  by  Miss  Cornelia  Bowen ; the  Robert  Hungerford 
Industrial  School  at  Eatonville,  Fla.,  founded  by  the  late  R.  C. 
Calhoun ; the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  at  Utica  Miss., 
founded  by  William  H.  Holtzclaw,  and  the  Voorhees  Normal  and 
Industrial  School  at  Denmark,  S.  C.,  founded  by  the  late  Elizabeth 
E.  Wright  Menafee. 

DISCIPLINE 

The  discipline  of  the  school,  the  deportment  of  students,  the  in- 
spection and  care  of  rooms,  and  the  guarding  of  the  grounds  is  in 
charge  of  the  Commandant  of  the  battalion  and  the  Dean  of  the 
Women’s  Department. 

Military  Discipline  of-  some  sort  has  been  enforced  since  the 
foundation  of  the  school.  The  first  day  the  students  came  to- 
gether they  marched.  After  J.  H.  Washington  arrived  on  the 
grounds  he  had,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties,  charge  of  the  mil- 
itary training  and  discipline  of  the  school.  He  held  this  position 
until  the  present  Commandant,  Major  J.  B.  Ramsey,  came  from 
Hampton  to  take  in  hand  the  discipline  of  the  school- 

Two  battalions,  one  of  four  companies  made  up  from  the  Night 
School  Students,  the  other  of  five  companies  made  up  from  the 
Day  School  students  have  been  formed  'among  the  boys  of  the 
school.  The  officers  are  chosen  from  the  upper  classes  and  rep- 
resent the  best  men  from  all  points  of  view  in  the  school. 

\n  Officers’  Court  investigates  and  passes  judgment  upon  all 
breaches  of  discipline  and  other  offenses  not  serious  enough  to  be 
referred  to  the  Principal,  or  to  the  Executive  Council.  At  the  be- 


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TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


ginning  of  each  year  the  students  are  called  together  and  the 
rules  and  discipline  of  the  school  are  read  and  submitted  to  them 
for  discussion.  This  does  not  result  in  any  important  modification 
of  the  discipline  of  the  school  but  the  discussion  enables  the  stu- 
dents to  better  understand  the  purpose  of  it. 

Meetings  of  the  Students,  with  the  Commandant,  are  held  every 
Saturday  for  the  purpose  of  talking  over  the  interests  of  the  stu- 
dents and  the  school.  Somewhat  the  same  methods  have  been 
adopted  in  the  Woman’s  Department. 

Police  Duty.  The  guarding  of  the  buildings  at  night,  the  in- 
spection of  rooms  and  fire  protection  are  performed  by  the  stu- 
dents under  the  direction  of  the  Commandant.  The  students  are 
organized  for  fire  protection  into  four  regular  squads,  the  Axe, 
Bucket,  Hose  and  Ladder  squads,  with  several  others  such  as  the 
Electricians,  in  reserve-  Places  are  assigned,  in  the  event  of  an 
alarm  of  fire,  to  every  student  in  the  school. 

Drills  and  Inspection  take  place  every  day  in  the  we3k.  The  day 
students  are  divided  into  two  squads,  one  of  which  drills  every 
other  day.  The  night  students  drill  once  a week.  Between  7 :00 
and  8:00  a.  m.  on  week  days  every  student  undergoes  an  inspection. 

RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

The  present  Chapel  was  begun  in  1895  and  completed  in  1898. 
It  is  one  of  the  largest  and  the  most  imposing  buildings  on  the 
grounds.  The  body  of  the  building  was  intended  to  seat  2,400 
people.  The  choir  back  of  the  stage  is  arranged  to  seat  about  150 
more.  In  1905,  to  accommodate  the  crowds  that  attended  the 
quarto-centennial  celebration,  its  capacity  was  increased  to  about 
3,000  by  the  location  of  galleries  in  the  transepts.  Preaching  serv- 
ices are  held  every  Sunday  morning. 

The  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  is  among  the  largest  of 
the  voluntary  religious  organizations  among  the  young  men  stu- 
dents. It  meets  Sunday  afternoons  in  Carnegie  Library  Assembly 
Room.  The  Association  has  an  enrollment  of  500,  and  an  average 
.attendance  of  300.  The  Christian  Endeavor  Association,  which 
meets  at  the  same  place  in  the  evening  has  an  average  attendance 
of  300.  The  younger  students  are  organized  into  a club  called  The 
Careful  Builders  which  meets  Saturday  evenings  and  Sunday  aft- 
ernoons. 

The  Chapel  Sunday  School  is  composed  of  the  entire  student  body. 
There  are  forty-one  classes.  They  are  taught  by  members  of  the 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


19 


faculty,  post-graduates  and  members  of  the  Senior  and  A Middle 
classes. 

The  Young  Women’s  Christian  Association  is  the  only  religious 
organization  composed  exclusively  of  girls  upon  the  grounds.  This 
society  meets  every  Sunday  in  Douglass  Hall.  It  does  a large  part 
of  its  work  through  the  medium  of  committees  in  association  with 
the  members  of  the  Women’s  Club. 

Music  is  an  essential  part  in  the  training  of  Tuskegee  students. 
All  the  students  are  given  regular  training  in  voice  culture  at  some 
period  of  their  studies.  The  Choir,  which  consists  of  150  voices, 
is  made  up  of  students  selected  at  the  beginning  of  each  year. 

A Band  of  47  Pieces  and  Orchestra  of  25  Pieces  are  maintained 
at  the  school.  A special  effort  is  made  to  preserve  the  old  Negro 
hymns  and  plantation  melodies. 

THE  LIBRARY 

The  Carnegie  Library  building  was  completed  in  1902.  It  was 
erected  at  a cost  of  about  $20,000.00.  It  contains  in  addition  to 
the  library  proper,  an  assembly  room  which  is  used  as  a lecture 
room  for  Senior  and  graduate  students;  a seminary  room,  where 
the  students  who  are  preparing  essays  may  work ; and  an  histori- 
cal room  where  relics  connected  with  the  history  of  the  school 
are  kept. 

The  Library  contains  at  present  about  19,000  volumes.  The  first 
library  of  the  school,  which  was  started  in  Porter  Hall  in  1883,  was 
made  up,  almost  wholly,  of  books  which  were  sent  down  from  the 
North  in  barrels,  together  with  old  clothes  for  needy  students.  A 
special  effort  is  now  being  made  to  furnish  this  library  with  books 
Damphlets  on  Africa  and  the  Negro  in  order  to  direct  attention 
of  students  to  the  materials  which  represent  the  current  history  of 
the  Negro-  A room  has  been  set  aside  in  which  are  kept  all  the 
books  relating  to  the  Negro  in  Africa  and  America. 

The  average  volunteer  daily  attendance  of  students  at  the  library 
is  three  hundred  and  eighty-six;  about  seventeen  thousand  books 
are  drawn  during  the  year.  The  average  number  drawn  each  day 
s sixty-two,  while  during  the  months  of  January,  February  and 
March  four  hundred  and  twelve  books  were  circulated  daily;  fiction, 
social  science,  general  literature,  history  and  travel  give  in  their 
respective  order  the  extent  of  their  popularity. 

The  reference  department  contains  a general  reference  section, 
open  to  all  teachers  and  students  of  the  school  and  a special  refer- 


20 


TUSKEGEE  TO  DATE 


ence  department,  open  only  to  assigned  classes.  The  average  num- 
ber of  general  reference  books  drawn  during  the  year  has  been  one 
hundred  and  eight,  and  special  reference  books,  two  hundred  and 
sixty-eight. 

A special  children’s  department  is  maintained.  Over  eight  hun- 
dred children’s  books  are  loaned  during  the  year.  Each  week  the 
fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  grades  of  the  Children’s  House  spend  one 
hour  in  the  library,  at  which  time  they  draw  books  and  look  up  ref- 
erences for  their  work  in  the  Children’s  House.  Every  Saturday 
at  4 p.  m.  the  little  children  from  the  Children’s  House  and  from 
the  kindergarten  come  to  the  library  for  the  “Story  Hour.” 

Once  a month  the  industrial  classes  meet  in  the  reading  room 
of  the  library  at  which  time  all  the  general  reference  books  bearing 
upon  the  subject  are  placed  before  the  students  and  special  work 
is  assigned  to  be  looked  up. 

There  are  a number  of  reading  circles  in  connection  with  the  li- 
brary. All  the  younger  boys  and  girls  of  the  school  are  united  into 
a club  for  the  reading  of  good  books.  The  boys  of  this  club  have 
averaged  six  hundred  and  eighty-nine  books  for  the  year  and  the 
girls,  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight.  The  Senior  and  A Middle 
Class  Reading  Circle  meets  on  Sunday  evening  immediately  after 
chapel  in  the  reading  room  of  the  Library-  The  aim  of  these  cir- 
cles is  to  create  in  the  student  a taste  for  reading  and  to  train 
them  how  to  use  their  spare  time  in  acquiring  that  general  culture 
which  comes  from  proper  reading. 

A large  and  varied  assortment  of  periodicals  are  kept  constantly 
on  file.  These  include  one  hundred  and  five  literary  periodicals, 
one  hundred  and  six  industrial  periodicals,  forty-nine  religious  peri- 
odicals, sixty-five  daily  papers  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  week- 
ly papers  in  which  are  included  one  hundred  and  two  Negro 
papers. 

The  most  pressing  need  of  the  library  is  more  money  with  which 
to  buy  special  reference  books,  particularly  those  needed  for  the 
industrial  work,  especially  agricultural  books. 


